Hermione Rose
by lordlonginus212
Summary: After a fateful incident, Hermione was taken away from her parents. She was raised in a magical orphanage, but pushed everyone away. She became know as 'The Rose', she was pretty but her pain created her thorns for anyone who got too close. This is starting as M, but will probably be changed to MA
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So this story will be Hermione focussed. Harry will still be part of it, so don't stress. I'm still a harmony shipper. XD **

**I don't own Harry Potter, or its characters and I don't make money from this. And I will still be continuing with RTR, so don't worry.**

**Enjoy.**

Hermione Rose.

Chapter One

The secret child.

The grangers were honest people, as hard working and caring as the next person. They had been trying for a child for so long that the baby Mrs. Granger had carried and brought into the world seemed like a miracle.

But even miracles come with a price.

A price the Grangers found they couldn't believe.

When Hermione was Six they knew she was different. She'd always been an intelligent child, learning to walk and talk far earlier than she should have been able to. She had been called gifted by the people at her day-care, even by a child psychologist the family had visited. That their daughter was intelligent never would have fazed the parents. No, it was their daughters other particular 'gift' that had the Grangers concerned.

Their daughter was magic. This could not be hidden.

It started with one tantrum. Hermione was always a quiet girl, but she had the occasional loss of emotions children have. She screamed and cried, louder than her parents had ever heard, and after a time her favourite teddy burst into flames. When Hermione calmed enough to see what happened she didn't shed a tear, instead she hugged the charred remains of her friend and even more surprisingly it repaired itself. Her parents knew, life wouldn't be the same.

They had to pull her out of the school she was set to attend, and hide her from the rest of the world. This seemed cruel, but there was no other way. They had to hide her for her own safety. They cut ties with everyone they knew, but reluctantly kept their surgery open, taking turns to raise their child, like the parents they knew they should be. But they knew this wouldn't be a permanent fix. Their child was powerful, that was certain.

* * *

Hermione was sitting in the lounge, watching the television. Emma was in the kitchen making lunch, as it was her day to mind Hermione. She'd had a good day, as Hermione seemed to be in control of her 'gift'. It wasn't until Emma called for Hermione to come and eat, that she noticed something wrong.

"Hermione sweety, lunch." She called lightly, but to no answer.

"Hermione..." Emma called again and moved towards the room her daughter was supposed to be in. The lounge was connected to the dining room/kitchen in an open styled house, hence why Emma had left Hermione on the couch while she left to the kitchen. But when Emma walked towards the couch Hermione was supposed to be sitting on, and looked over the back of it, her daughter wasn't there.

Emma did what any sane mother would do in this situation. She panicked.

She searched the house from top to bottom, before searching their back yard. Her search was fruitless. Hermione was gone.

* * *

Hermione wanted to go to the zoo. So here she was. All the animals she wanted were there. Mummy might be angry, but she really wanted to go. She knew all the names, but hadn't seen them before, she hadn't been out of her house in forever. Her Mummy and Daddy said it wasn't safe but she was having fun.

She was looking at the otters when she found herself on the ground, a boy having pushed her there. "Out of the way smelly head." The boy said. Hermione was sore, and the boy was mean. When the boy's mother called out "Be careful Duddykins." And ignored the sore Hermione she cried.

She knew she shouldn't cry, and bad things happened when she did, but the boy was so mean. She just lost control. She hit back.

The boy screamed as his face recoiled from Hermione's fist, a large and still steaming burn remaining where she had connected.

The next few minutes were a blur, the look of terror from the boys family, the walls and glass around Hermione cracking as she lost herself to her magic, and finally funnily dressed people popping into existence around the young witch restoring calm and containing Hermione before taking her away.

* * *

Kingsley Shacklebolt had been an Auror for many years, leading his own team in many different raids after the fall of Voldemort. After that fateful night, it was part of his job, leading his team, to hunt down the dark wizards who participated in the war and bring them to justice. But when they were called out to an outburst of dangerous magic in muggle London, they thought they might be in for some action. Finding a lone girl, barely able to be called a child, alone as the centre of this amount of chaos. He knew that this wouldn't be fun.

He hated this part of his job, but he stunned the girl as lightly as he could and put her into a temporary stasis. The team had gotten in early, so cleaning was easy. A field healer tended to the wounds of the muggle boy, despite his mother and father trying to run away with him shouting about freakish, in-human things. Kingsley waited for the healer to be finished and escorted both wizard and witch to St. Mungos.

When they had gotten the girl into a bed, and restrained her with magic-nullifying binds, Kingsley released the spell he had the girl under. Immediately the healer went to work, trying to detect if the girl would be a threat if conscious. It was rare, but some children had trouble controlling their powers. The Auror hoped they had gotten to the girl in time.

When the healer gave the all clear they revived the girl. As predicted she stared at the two men, clearly confused as to where she was.

Kingsley broke the silence with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Hello, my name's Kingsley, can you tell me your name?"

"Hermione.." The girl mumbled, before changing pace. "Where am I? Why can't I move?" She asked, taking charge of the situation.

"You're in a hospital, it's called St. Mungos. Do you remember what happened?" Kingsley asked, trying to gauge the girl and how she would respond.

Hermione shrugged and looked away. "The boy hit me." She deadpanned, an unusual steel in her voice for one so young.

Kingsley stared at the girl for a moment, unsure of how to continue. It was then that the girls resolve broke and she started crying. "Why am I different!?" She screamed, her body shaking with the strength of her sobs. Kingsley decided how he would go and waved the healer away. "I'll handle this." He said quietly.

"Hermione, listen to me." He started, getting the girls attention. She still continued crying, but had quietened down. "What I'm about to tell you is important, and after I'm done I'll need your help so I can find your parents ok?" He asked, and after getting a nod of approval, he continued. "You're a witch Hermione. You can perform magic."

Hermione jumped at this declaration. "Witches and magic are only in stories." She said with a frown.

"How do you explain what you can do?" Kingsley asked, and upon seeing her confusion he chuckled. "Watch." He said and drew his wand, undoing her restraints. He then proceeded to summon some streamers and turn them into small birds, creating a look of absolute awe in the young girls face. Sitting back down and facing her he continued talking. "I'm a wizard police officer, known as an Auror. So please Hermione, tell me your last name."

The two had a long conversation, in which Kingsley knew that this could get much worse.

* * *

Emma was beside herself, sobs shaking her entire frame, as she sat by the phone. She had called the police when she couldn't find Hermione, after that she had told her husband. She now sat in the lounge staring out the window and clutching Hermione's favourite teddy, wishing something would happen.

Robert Granger wasn't much better, he sat at the dining table with a cup of tea and stared at the wood. He couldn't stand looking at his wife so distraught. He didn't know what else he could do.

From where he sat he could clearly hear the sound of his wife jumping to her feet and racing towards the door. He heard Hermione's exclamations from where he had jumped up and moved towards the entry way, where his wife was holding onto their daughter for dear life.

"Mr. Granger." Came a smooth voice from behind the two women. Robert looked up and saw a tall, official looking man who quickly addressed him again. "My name is Kingsley Shacklebolt, might I come in."

Emma had regained some composure, and moved out of the way, while Robert invited Kingsley into their home. They sat in the living room, Hermione on Emma's knee, before the questions started.

"Where did you find her?"

"Was she hurt?"

Kingsley raised his hand for silence, before the tirade could get worse. "She was found at London Zoo..." He trailed off, not knowing how to continue.

The Granger parents shared a worried look, before they asked the hardest question. "Was anyone else hurt?"

Kingsley sighed and knew he had to be honest with these people, so that they would be in the best position to accept their daughter as a witch. "One boy had a fist shaped scald on his face, and the otter area was nearly completely totalled... I assume you know of your daughters gift?"

Emma started crying again, not looking at Hermione when she asked 'What's wrong Mummy?'

"How can that be a gift?" Robert spat, nearly losing himself to tears. "She can make things explode! She can bloody well teleport!" He was shaking, this was too much for him.

"Now that is different. Mostly, when wizards and witches start to exhibit accidental magic, it's minor..." He stopped talking, noting the two confused expressions.

"Wizards and witches? You mean there are more people like Hermione?" Robert said, clearly concerned. "Why didn't we know about this?"

"Because magic is a secret Mr. Granger. Normally children show signs of being magical when they are between 7 and 10, just before they can attend our schools. Hermione is apparently an early bloomer, but as she's still young she's unstable. Now, what we can do is give her some potions to take weekly, these will stop the outbursts of magic..." He trailed off again as Emma had put Hermione down and risen from her place on the couch.

"I can't do this..." She muttered, shuffling away from her daughter. "I just... I can't do this."

Robert wrapped his arms around his wife, while Hermione stared at her parents, they were ignoring her, she'd been given potions to help her magic but the pain was still intense. Simply and silently, she cried.

'_This was never going to be a good day' _Kingsley thought as he pulled out his wand. Sometimes muggle parents couldn't understand magic. The protocol was clear. Hermione would be wiped. "I'm sorry about this." Kingsley said, to no one and everyone at the same time.

* * *

Hermione was taken into custody by the ministry, and raised in an orphanage. She was different to the other children. Most had lost parents, and ended up there through unfortunate events. Some had run away, and not told anyone their identities.

Hermione had been rejected, by her own parents. This fact was etched into her very soul, and closed her off from the rest of the world. She pushed everyone away, which in turn fed her fears more.

She had become known as: The Rose. She was a pretty girl, when her face was not hidden by a book, but her choice of solitude, and fear of rejection created her 'thorns'.

The owners of the orphanage couldn't get anyone to adopt her, and she wouldn't let them even if they wanted to.

It was Hermione Rose that met Professor McGonagall after receiving her Hogwarts letter.

Minerva had done this countless times. She'd met with many muggle parents, and been to this particular magical orphanage, many times. But she'd never met someone like Hermione 'Rose'. The girl was cold and distant, but Minerva had a job to do, and she would see it through.

"I'm here to take you to Diagon Alley, where we shall get your supplies for first year." She said, with authority.

The young witch merely nodded and followed the professor out of the building. The owners watched the pair leave, happy that Hermione was finally getting out.. Sort of. They had met the girl when she was only Six, and hadn't been able to crack her outer shell. She pushed away anyone that tried to get close and fell further and further away when all the others close to her age were adopted or sent to other schools. They couldn't do anything more for her.

She really was a rose.

**A/N: Welp... Please don't hate me for this. ._.**


	2. A Chance Encounter

**A/N: The feedback I received was amazing guys, I didn't actually think people would like it. **

**Also note, I will be keeping Hermione's wand as the wiki says it is: ****10¾", Vine, dragon heartstring. I'm not overly creative when it comes to wands and such.**

**As always, I don't own HP or anything about it. **

Chapter 2

A Chance Meeting.

"Come on now." McGonagall said, having used side-along-apparition to get Hermione to Diagon Alley.

Hermione felt like she nearly had the life crushed out of her, her heart was racing, but she showed none of her discomfort on her face. She had heard of apparition before, even read up on it as something that interested her. She never would have guessed it would be like being wedged between two black walls the seemed intent on trying to get closer to each other, with you inside.

"Are you alright?" The professor asked. She hadn't seen anyone react to this form of transport so calmly, outside of then pureblood families, that is.

"Fine." Hermione said softly, making Minerva jump, Hermione had seemed like someone who didn't speak much, but her voice confirmed that the child wasn't used to interacting with others.

"Well... We'll go get you fitted for a wand first." Minerva said, knowing that it would be better to get the most troubling part out of the way first. They didn't need to go to Gringotts, as the professor had organised payments out of a trust fund. Personally, she wondered who had set up this fund, but if it could get students into school then it would have to do. They set off at a brisk pace, Hermione following Minerva as she lead the way to Ollivanders.

The two ladies entered the store, Hermione taking a moment to look around at the dusty chaos of it. It made her think of the 'library' they had at the orphanage, dust coating every surface and a level of grime coating to the windows, one might wonder when the last time the sun came through was.

McGonagall, however, was in a slight rush and breathed a sigh of relief when the mysterious and somewhat scruffy looking shop keeper made himself known.

"Why hello Professor." He said smiling widely. "What business do you have today?" He finished, clasping his hands together.

"I'm here to see that Miss Granger here is fitted for a wand." She said, professionally. She missed Hermione shudder at the use of her old name, before indicating her to the decrepit old wizard.

"I see." He said simply and whipped out his wand. His tape measure started floating towards Hermione as he asked her which hand she wrote with.

"Right." She said curtly, trying to ignore the sensation the tape measure caused. She hated being touched. It was one of the many reasons people avoided her. Hermione stood there for a couple of minutes fighting her urge to rip the tape apart, she really tried, it was just too much for her. She quickly moved and caught the tape, letting out an aggressive kind of growl before Olivander pulled it out of her grasp with his wand, and McGonagall rounded on the girl.

"Miss Granger! What is the meaning of this?" She demanded. She didn't believe any student would act so disrespectfully of Olivander. "Mr. Ollivander here is trying to do his job-"

She was cut off by Hermione rounded on her. Her voice actually startling the older witch with its sheer ferocity. "He is doing it stupidly! If _you_ hadn't noticed, I don't like being touched. AND MY NAME IS NOT GRANGER!" She started screaming. "MY NAME IS HERMIONE ROSE!" She finished, tears cascading her cheeks, before bolting from the shop and the confused adults.

She slammed the door as she ran, and from the back of the store the sound of falling boxes could be heard, like an incoming wave. "Oh bullocks." The old wizard cursed and braced himself.

* * *

Harry Potter had been having the time of his life. He'd found out that, not only was he a wizard, but he wouldn't have to see the Dursleys for nearly a year!

He'd been into the bank with Hagrid, found out that he was pretty well off financially, and visited Madam Malkins. They were wandering down the avenue, eating their ice creams and quietly talking about various things.

The avenue was mildly crowded, as people were hurrying about with last minute school preparations, even so Hagrid could easily see people being pushed aside as something forced its way through the crowd. "I Wonder wha' tha' is.." He said in confusion just as a small brown-haired _something_ suddenly came into view. Harry barely registered what happened, but to him it seemed like Hagrid merely pulled someone out of the crowd and held them a good three feet off the ground.

Hagrid, having much experience with catching small, flighty creatures and easily scooped up the cause of the crowds displeasure. He held whoever, as it really seemed human at least, it was high enough so that their head was eye level with him. The fact that Hermione's feet were easily able to hit Harry in the face, and nearly did when she started squirming and kicking the air, was lost on the larger man as he tried to figure out exactly _who_ he had caught.

She was just taller than Harry, with a mess of brown curly hair that had frizzed up, as though electricity was running through the girl. She had a frail looking structure, but when her hair moved out of her face there was a savageness in her eyes, that spoke of a desire to seriously harm the groundskeeper who was holding her. Her skin was pale, as though she never saw much light, and she had a rounded face. Harry could see she had slightly larger front teeth, with her mouth turned into a snarl like it was. She looked like a girl that would be a late bloomer but not ugly in the slightest, was Harrys honest opinion, but she was bloody scary with the look she wore.

"Now settle an' I'll put yeh down." He said sternly, causing Hermione to stop her writhing and glare at him. "Tha's better." Hagrid said with a nod and lowered Hermione, just as McGonagall raced to the trio.

"Oh Hagrid, thank you for catching her.." She panted out, after she had regained her breath she looked to Hermione, who was looking disdainfully at the ground. "Miss Granger." She started, causing Hermione to flinch. "Your behaviour in Ollivanders was disgraceful! Never before have I heard of a future student acting in such a way." She began, with passerby's looking away and walking quickly. The head of Gryffindor had a reputation for her tirades and no one wanted to witness it. Minerva wasn't yelling, she wouldn't drag someone out like that in public. "What on Earth were you thinking, yelling at a man who was just trying to do his job?" She asked, but without waiting a response, continued. "I just hope he'll let you back into his store after this. Now you are going to go back into the store and apologise!" She finished, pointing the way they came.

This time, when Harry looked at the girl, he saw not a savage fighter in the girls eyes. He saw, rather, someone who had been pushed around too much to handle. It was a look that he imagined he had worn a few times. This girl knew she had nowhere to run. Of course Hermione was still glaring at the ground, refusing to say anything to the other woman. Instead she followed the older witch, silently.

"Who were they Hagrid?" Harry asked, as the women left.

"Well tha' was the Vice-Headmistress, an 'ead of Gryffindor, Professor McGonagall." Hagrid said, a little taken aback at what they had witnessed. "But tha' girl I dunno..." He trailed off, noting where the two had headed. "Looks like they'll be at Ollivanders fer a bit, so why dun' we go do some other shoppin' of some sort."

As Harry and Hagrid wandered off Harrys mind was reeling about what kind of place Hogwarts would be, with teachers like McGonagall and students like Miss Granger.

No one seemed to notice the slight discolouration the area had taken on, or the lunch of one poor nearby wizard which had seemed to go off in his hands.

* * *

As soon as they had entered the wandmakers store, he looked over the counter at the pair. He had just regained order in his store, and hoped it would stay that way. He trusted Minerva to have sorted this girl out, and awaited someone to start the conversation.

Hermione stepped forward, and bowed her head slightly. "I'm sorry Mr. Ollivander, I lost control of my emotions and should have just told you that the measuring tape was making me uncomfortable. I didn't mean to lose my composure and I shouldn't have yelled." She finished, all trace of anger gone from her face. She might be a little rough around the edges, but the girl was smart enough to know when she had done something wrong.

"Well, I accept your apology." Ollivander started, smiling slightly. "On one condition. You see, it's the wands that choose the wizards, and when my store was tossed around one such wand wanted its presence known." He explained, pulling out a wand and handing it to the girl. "10¾", Vine with a dragon heartstring for the core." He said, and smiled wider at the girls confused expression. "It's a good all-rounded wand, and would probably have never worked again if I had not let you take it."

"Thank you..." Hermione said in a small voice. The wand had chosen her. This was her wand.

"It's no problem... Miss Rose." He replied in his usual mysterious voice.

After paying for the wand, the witches left the store. They hadn't even gotten two steps before they ran into Hagrid and Harry again.

"Oh Hagrid, there you are. I wanted to make sure everything was _under control." _McGonagall said, with an emphasis that was lost on the children.

"Absolutely." Hagrid replied, patting his pocket. "And also, migh' I introduce young 'Arry 'ere." He finished, gesturing towards Harry.

"Yes of course, pleasure to meat you, Mr. Potter." She said, formally.

"Umm... You can call me Harry, professor." Harry replied meekly.

"I'll keep that in mind." She chuckled, and motioned towards Hermione. "This is Hermione Grang-.. I mean Hermione Rose." She corrected herself, reminding herself to change the roll later. "She'll be a classmate of yours this year."

Hermione simply nodded and looked away, still lost in her own thoughts.

"Very well then." Minerva said, curtly. "I suppose we should be off. I'll leave everything to you Hagrid." She said with a nod and started leading Hermione away to get her shopping finished.

"What a strange girl..." Harry thought, as they entered Ollivanders.

* * *

Harry was standing at Kings Cross, panicking. The Dursleys had left him abandoned and Hagrid had forgotten to tell him how to get to the platform. It was almost eleven and he was starting to lose hope that he would ever get to Hogwarts.

He was looking around, when suddenly a thicket of brown hair caught his attention, and he was suddenly staring at a pair of brown eyes he knew.

"Well come on." Hermione said with a flat expression, waving him over to her.

**A/N: And there we have it. What will happen next? Will they be friends? Will they be foes?**

**Next time on Hermione Rose!: Hogwarts!**

***edit* I had to take the chapter down and repost, because I didn't upload it all pretty... Probably because I was writing at 130 in the morning.**


	3. Friends?

**A/N: so it has been a while! I can honestly say that I didn't expect this much of a gap, but sadly you may have to wait for a while before the next chapter. Uni stuff, hard work etc, etc  
As always I don't own Harry, Hermione or their world.  
Enjoy :D**

**Chapter 3**

Friends?

Hermione watched as Harry walked towards her, and led him through the gate to the express. She looked over at the boy and had to stifle a giggle at his expression. He looked just like the kids at Christmas. "You really were raised as a muggle weren't you?" She asked as they walked towards a compartment Hermione has secured. They took seats opposite each other and settled in for the trip, neither really having anyone there to say goodbye to.

Harry looked at the ground when asked the question. "Does it really matter?" He said, embarrassed.

"To some, yes." Hermione said, with a hint of annoyance.

Harry was about to ask what she meant by that when the door was opened by a pudgy, flustered looking, boy holding a toad.

"Umm... Hello." He said. He looked like he would rather run to the other end of the train than have to stand here and talk to strangers. He had short, dark brown hair and looked like he didn't have much experience talking to people. Both Harry and Hermione pitied him almost instantly, he held himself like he was trying to carry a boulder, and that wasn't just from his school things he had carried through the train.

Sensing his obvious distress Harry decided to extend a helping hand. "I'm Harry, and this is Hermione. If everywhere else is full feel free to join us." He said with a smile that he hoped would calm the boy.

"Oh thank you!" He said, nearly falling into the empty seat beside Harry. "My names Neville. Neville Longbottom." He said meekly.

"Are you a first year too?" Harry asked, trying to make the boy more comfortable.

"Yeah, Gran says I have to make the Longbottom name proud, but I'm not sure if I'll be any good." Neville said, hanging his head lower.

"Well, looks like we're in the same boat then." Harry said, putting a hand on the other boys shoulder. "This is my first year of Hogwarts and before now I didn't even know magic existed."

"Really?" Neville said, looking wide-eyed towards Harry, he then turned to Hermione, who had been staring out of the window, "What about you?" He asked.

"Hermione's face took a serious look at the question. "I don't want to talk about it." She said bluntly, making the boy flinch.

Harry looked as stunned as Neville at the girls words. "That was a bit harsh Hermione..." He said lamely.

Hermione simply shrugged and looked decisively out the window, leaving Harry stumped at to what direction he should steer the conversation. Luckily for him the door opened to a innocent looking older lady pushing a cart of confections.

"Anything off the trolley" She asked with a small smile.

Harry eyed the longing glances of his two cabin mates before making a decision. Pulling out his coin purse he said boldly "We'll take the lot."

They were still happily eating their confections as the night started becoming creeping out over the horizon. Noting this Hermione stood abruptly. "You two should leave." She said to the curious glances of the boys.

"Why?" Neville asked.

"Well, I need to get changed into my robes... Apparently it's a rule." Hermione said, almost bashfully.

Neville immediately turned red. "I...Umm.. O.k.." He said as he nearly ran through the door in embarrassment, with Harry shrugging and walking out leisurely. Hermione changed quickly and gave the boys time to get into their robes, as was fair for everyone, and the trio set themselves back into their seats for the last stretch of their trip. They sat in companionable silence for the most part, each thinking about what they had left behind and what they would be walking into. Silence was something Hermione was used to, but it was always when she was actually alone, she found it incredibly odd that these two boys had not only stayed with her the entire trip, but had even included her in conversation. If the rest of the school was like this it might even be enjoyable. It was these thoughts that lead Hermione to voice the question that had been on the minds of every first year at some point on that fateful train journey.  
"What house do you think you guys will be in?"

"I don't really mind, but I think I'll be in Hufflepuff." Neville said with a sigh of defeat.

"Why?" Harry asked, not that he knew the particular reputations of the specific houses, curiosity had just gotten the better of him.

"Well, I've never been much of a wizard.." Neville said trailing off.

"Isn't that why we're going to school though? To learn?" Harry prompted, trying to cheer his new friend up. "I don't think any of us could be considered great."

"You could." Hermione suddenly stated, so flatly and sharply that the other boys actually jumped, thinking that she wasn't paying attention.

"Why me? I mean I know some guy named Volde-something-something tried to off me, but that doesn't make me special. I'm just Harry." He said, feeling a slight hint of déjà vu.

"Well 'Just Harry', you were the only one in a generation who took down You Know Who and even before you had touched your first wand. People would think that's something special." Hermione rebutted.

Harry sighed and hung his head. "I don't **want** to be special. I just want to be normal..."

"So do I." Neville said, trying to return Harry's kindness. "If that's how you want to be seen, then that's how I'll see you."

Harry looked up in near disbelief. "Really?" He asked.

"Course, as long as we can be friends you'll be 'Just Harry' to me." Neville said, and smiled with his new friend.

Hermione watched the exchange with some deeper longing, but she knew she was better off leaving the boys as they were. '_They all hurt me, so what was the point of trying?'_ She thought sourly as the two boys settled down and were talking happily about Hogwarts and the houses within them, Hermione immersed herself in her thoughts and stared into the ever deepening darkness outside.

* * *

The train gave a high squeal and a thud as it came to a stop at the station. "Well that took a while.." Hermione muttered, but loud enough for the others to hear. Neville chuckled and the three left into the din of students trying to push onto the platform. The night was hinting at the impending coolness of Autumn, but it was still warm enough to be comfortable outside.

"Firs' Years this way!" Came a booming voice over the chatter of the crowd, and Harry smiled widely at the recognition of the voice.

"Hagrid!" He said racing up to the giant of a man

"Ello 'Arry." Hagrid said, beaming. "Good to see yeh made sum friends."

Harry smiled as he introduced Neville and Hermione to Hagrid, but only one really smiled back, as the group made its way to a dock where a small fleet of boats awaited them. The trio claimed a boat for themselves as most of the other students had, leaving one red haired child with Hagrid. The boats took off without a word from Hagrid and travelled silently across the water, the sight they received took their collective breath away. The castle was completely illuminated against the black sky, making it seem the students had travelled into a fairy tale. Wide eyed and slack jawed the first years pulled up to the castle and left the boats.

As the students were grouping onto the solid ground Hagrids voice called out over them "Oy, who's toad is this?" He said, holding up a squirming black toad.

"Trevor!" Neville cried, reaching over to Hagrid. "I didn't notice he'd gone missing." He said to Harry. "Been having too much fun."

"Well, look after 'im." Hagrid said as he moved over to a set of oak doors. "Everyone 'ere?" He asked before turning to the doors and knocking. The door was answered by Professor McGonagall, who was wearing more formal looking robes, looking rather intimidating to the group of children.

"Thank you Hagrid, I'll take them from here." She said as Hagrid presented the group. The professor lead the group into a smaller room, where they were pushed closer together than they normally would have been. Hermione had disappeared from beside Neville and Harry and hung towards the back of the room, she hated large groups especially when people touched her. As McGonagall was talking Hermione tried to keep calm, taking deep breaths and forcing herself not to throw up, or throw a punch. McGonagall left and the other began fidgeting. Before long Harry had turned and seen Hermione in a state.

Turning to her he asked quietly. "Are you O.k.?"

"Fine." Hermione said abruptly, shrugging him off in a huff.

Before he could inquire further there were several gasps and squeals as ghosts had started appearing around them, and even through them. Hermione shivered as she felt she had been pushed into ice water, a ghost passing straight through her. She blinked for a second, but strangely felt better with the sudden coldness. The ghosts kept talking amongst themselves, only really noticing the students just as McGonagall returned. She led them into a new room, full of floating candles and other students sitting at four long tables. They entered the hall and noticed the hat sitting on a seat at the front of a room. The hall became quiet as the hat burst into song, taking most of the first years by surprise.

When the applause had died down McGonagall started the sorting. About half way through the group Neville's name came up He tentatively walked over to the hat and looked towards Harry as it fell over his eyes. He only sat there a few moments before the hat called 'GRYFFINDOR' letting Neville run off to the table on the far right of the rest of the first years. It was over the next few names that Harry began to worry, '_What if I'm not with Neville? Or Hermione?_' he thought anxiously.

Finally it was his turn. The hat went over his eyes and he was thrown into darkness.

"Well then, what do we have here?" A voice called in his head.

"Hi..." Harry said somewhat lamely.

"You know, Mr. Potter, I don't know where I'm going to put you." The hat mused. "You have talent, sure, courage, definitely, and you've got a good brain between these ears. But I have no idea where you _should_ be..."

"Can I be with Neville, and Hermione too? They're my friends and..." Harry began but was cut off by a chuckle as the hat announced to the hall 'GRYFFINDOR!' Thanking the hat and running over to Neville Harry was beaming, as was the rest of his new house.

Now Hermione was up to be sorted. Anxiously she walked up to the stool and places the hat on her head. The hat took one look at her and let out a long whistle.

"Another one eh? You kids these days make it hard for an old hat like me.."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked into the blackness.

"You, the Potter boy, and the Longbottom lad. You all have so much potential, just waiting to be moulded one way or the other." The hat said in exasperation. "The Potter boy wants to stay with you, asked me to keep you three together..." The hat said, as he examined Hermione's mind more closely.

"Really?" Hermione said in shock. "Why..."

"Would he say that?" The hat finished for the girl. "Well he seems to want to be your friend, something I see you've had a lack of in your life."

"Hey!" Hermione said, embarrassed at being read so easily.

"Don't worry, I'm made so I can't talk about what goes in inside someone's head while I'm on here. Everything I learn is between us." The hat said in a calming tone. "I think I will keep you with those lads. You could use friends." It finished as it called 'GRYFFINDOR' and Hermione rose to join Harry and Neville at their new table.

The feast was a large affair, but Hermione was too consumed in her own thoughts to worry about what was going on in front of her.

'_What did it mean I could use friends?'_ She thought bitterly as she tried to work out what the hat could have meant. _'I've been fine just by myself.'_

**A/N: Well... That took a while. That's about all I can say really...**


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